Teaching, Learning, Policy & Leadership Theses and Dissertations
Permanent URI for this collectionhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/2759
Browse
3 results
Search Results
Item In Pursuit of Equity: The Politics of Desegregation in Howard County, Maryland(2023) Bill, Kayla Mackenzie; Scribner, Campbell F.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)School desegregation policies aim to redistribute educational resources and opportunities more equitably, but they have not always done so. Evidence indicates that political factors, including resistance from White parents and legal constraints, have undermined desegregation policies’ potential to fulfill their aims. Yet, a few studies suggest that windows of opportunity to desegregate schools exist. Even so, these studies often focus on how a subset of political factors shape desegregation efforts, and some political factors remain understudied. Furthermore, school desegregation research tends to focus on either the political dynamics of advancing these policies or the effects these policies have on segregation. Thus, the extent to which political factors affect desegregation policies’ potential to reduce segregation and, eventually, to advance educational equity remains an open question. My dissertation addresses these gaps in the literature by using a race-conscious political framework and a qualitative-dominant, convergent parallel mixed methods design to explore the politics and outcomes of the Howard County Public School System’s (HCPSS) recent effort to desegregate by redistricting, or redrawing school attendance boundary lines. Howard County is an ideal setting to study desegregation because it possesses several favorable conditions for desegregating schools, including racial/ethnic diversity, espoused commitments to educational equity, and a history of racial/ethnic and socioeconomic integration. These favorable conditions allow me to “test” whether desegregation is a feasible policy goal for school districts and to provide policymakers with insights about how to advance desegregation policies in ways that maximize their potential to reduce segregation and promote educational equity. I find that school overcrowding, growing racial/ethnic and socioeconomic segregation, and resource inequities led the HCPSS Superintendent and the Howard County Board of Education to initiate redistricting. The superintendent proposed a redistricting plan that had the potential to reduce segregation in HCPSS. Yet, various political factors—including resistance from wealthy White and Asian parents and limitations from HCPSS’s formal attendance boundary adjustment policy—led the board to enact a redistricting plan that had relatively less potential to reduce segregation and would have increased it at some school levels. Upon implementation, the enacted redistricting plan appeared to reduce segregation in HCPSS, but those reductions likely resulted from enrollment changes in the district. Ultimately, findings suggest that, under favorable political conditions, desegregation policies do have the potential to reduce segregation. However, realizing these policies’ potential will require districts to either a) explicitly prioritize desegregation, rather than allowing policymakers to attempt to balance desegregation with other, often competing policy goals, or b) align desegregation with other policy goals, rather than pitting it against them.Item A CASE STUDY OF THE PERCEPTION OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS REGARDING THE MICROPOLITICS OF CONSOLIDATING PUBLIC SCHOOLS(2012) Slade, Darrin Andre; Mawhinney, Hanne B.; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of Document: A CASE STUDY OF THE PERCEPTIONS OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS REGARDING THE MICROPOLITICS OF CONSOLIDATING PUBLIC SCHOOLS Darrin Andre Slade, Doctor of Education, 2012 Directed By: Associate Professor Hanne Mawhinney Department of Teaching, Learning, Policy and Leadership The continued decline of many of America's urban centers has created a myriad of challenges for struggling inner city school systems. As the ills of society drive magnitudes of inner city residents into the suburbs many urban school districts must deal with the challenges of decreasing student enrollment and underused facilities. Many states allocate money to districts based on student enrollment. Declining enrollments often result in decreased fiscal allocations. The combination of declining enrollments and reduced funding often makes school closures necessary. In response to school closings many systems have re-configured the way they address the issue of underused facilities. In districts like the Mid-Atlantic school system leaders have chosen to consolidate schools into one shared facility to maximize resources. Such organizational change can be a catalyst for micropolitics. Issues related to micropolitics can have a dramatic effect on any organization especially one as complex as a school. With the ever-growing demands placed on school leaders particularly those related to high stakes accountability and school climate there is an urgent need to gain further insight into the principals' perception on how micropolitics impacts the total school. This study provided insight into the micropolitical perspectives of seven principals charged with leading consolidated buildings. The research design for this multi-case study was bounded by Bolman and Deal's (2003) political frame and Mangham and Morley's research on micropolitics. The study includes a single and cross case analysis of each principal's unique micropolitical perspectives. The findings from this study revealed that from the principal's perspective micropolitical issues occurred in every consolidated school. Data revealed similarities and differences in the manner in which principals perceived the conflicts and power struggles in their buildings and the causes of these disputes. In most cases the discord stemmed from enduring differences among students and staff members. The findings from this study have implications for policy makers, school leadership and future research. Additional research is needed to explore the effect of consolidation on student achievement. School leadership needs to use the data from this study to train principals to deal properly with the micropolitical issues they are sure to confront as school leaders. Policy makers must consider issues of zoning, the allocation of school resources and teacher hiring to ensure that future consolidation efforts are met with success.Item Testing Baldridge's Political Model: A Case Study of the Asian American Studies Program at the University of Maryland, College Park(2005-12-05) mccarthy, sally Anne; Malen, Betty; Education Policy, and Leadership; Digital Repository at the University of Maryland; University of Maryland (College Park, Md.)ABSTRACT Title of dissertation: TESTING BALDRIDGE'S POLITICAL MODEL: A CASE STUDY OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND, COLLEGE PARK Sally Anne McCarthy, Doctor of Philosophy, 2005 Dissertation directed by: Professor Betty Malen Department of Education Policy and Leadership The purpose of this research was to investigate the dynamics surrounding campus policy making related to diversity issues and new academic programs. This study was anchored in conceptual ideas that liken university policy making to political processes. The study sought to answer the over arching research question: How does Baldridge's (1971) political model of university policy making apply to one campus policy process addressing diversity issues? The research employed a qualitative case method as a means to answer the research question. Specifically, the study examined the creation and enactment of the Asian American Studies Program (AASP) at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP). Data collection drew from an informant interview process and was supported by document review. Data were systematically analyzed against the conceptual framework, presented in a case narrative, discussed in light of related literature, and assessed in terms of their relevance to theory. The study generated analytic conclusions about the political nature of one campus's policy and programmatic decisions to support Asian American Studies. This research also generated new data regarding decision making around diversity issues and the role of students of color on campus, which are salient issues on college campuses today.